<p>We also went to a college fair at my daughter's high school recently. There were about 120 or so schools there. It was interesting to see how all of my daughter's friends each had their own strategies for the fair and those strategies were often pretty predictible based on their personalities.</p>
<p>My daughter, for instance, got the list of schools beforehand and only checked off ones she was already potentially interested in --- she did end up talking to one or two other schools at the fair but felt she had a pretty good idea of what she wants and didn't want to look at schools that didn't fit her needs/desires. That actually ruled out quite a few schools right off the bat (such as the University of Judaism) and made the fair much more manageable. Of the school booths she did visit, she asked specific questions about study abroad options, programs in her potential major, and a few other things. She didn't write anything down (and I'm sure if you asked her now she wouldn't remember a thing that was said).</p>
<p>Her best friend who is hyper-organized brought index cards with her and wrote an index card for each school. She asked very detailed questions about admissions and her major and made notes on each card. She then stuck the card in to every brochure she received. Unlike my daughter, she visited schools of various sizes and locations even if they weren't on her "list" Knowing this girl, I'm sure she went home and worked up an excel spreadsheet after the fair!!!</p>
<p>One of my daughter's friends has not started the college search process yet and her and her mother went to every single booth and just gathered literature - kind of built their own personal Fiske Guide for later reading. They didn't really ask questions - just gathered literature and walked out with huge bags. She didn't seem to have any specific questions to ask but I did see that she was paying close attention to the questions other people were asking.</p>
<p>You may also want to ask your son what he wants your role to be at the fair. My daughter told me that while I could look at the booths and gather literature I thought was interesting, that she wanted to explore the fair "on her own" without me in close proximity. Her best friend also felt this way so they did the fair together (one of the reasons my daughter visited a few booths she didn't have on her list was because of her friend). From the clutch of parents gathered in the corner of the fair, I suspect this was very common.</p>
<p>The other thing I noticed about this particular fair was that it was extremely crowded and the most "popular" schools - especially the Ivy's - had such crowds at their booths that it was very difficult to get one-on-one time with the reps. I'd say wear comfortable clothes AND bring a water bottle. :) </p>
<p>Also, my daughter's guidance counselor had told my daughter beforehand to look for the Business reply cards at each booth and make sure she filled the ones out for the schools she was most interested in - apparently, the GC believes that colleges do enter this info. into their database so that while a rep might not remember you in the crush, it will at least be noted somewhere that you did visit them at the fair. Kjofkw - what a great idea to use pre-printed labels!!! I will have to remember that for next time.</p>